Featured Source: Women own about one percent of world’s land

Zoom into this 1997 map online or this .pdf document. What do you learn just from looking at the title and the information presented outside of the country labels (ignore the orange leaves for now)?

Look at the country labels (orange leaves). Which countries have the most female landowners? Use the information provided in this map to chart female land ownership in 1997. How might you explain this data? What questions do you have?

Women’s access to, use of and control over land and other productive resources are essential to ensuring their right to equality and to an adequate standard of living. These resources help to ensure that women are able to provide for their day-to-day needs and those of their families, and to weather some of life’s most difficult challenges.

Conduct some further research into female land ownership and its importance to global economic health. What does the research say about the current percentage of women land owners? Have the numbers increased, decreased or stayed pretty even? Create an infographic representing the situation today and its importance to the world economy.

What other observations, reflections or questions does this source inspire? Let us know!